8th Grade

On this page, you will find low and high tech resources for 8th Grade students.

• Read independently every day. Make this a consistent routine every day--choose a time and a special place in your home.

• What is this book mostly about? (Think main idea.) What did you learn in this book? (If fiction, think about the text’s lesson; if nonfiction, think about the topic.) Jot your ideas on paper.

• Think about what you already know related to the book or what the book reminds you of. Share your thinking with someone or write your thoughts down on paper.

• For stories: Think about the characters, setting, problem, solution and events in the text. Who was in the story? When and where did it happen? What was the problem and how was it solved? What happened in the story? Jot your ideas down on paper.

• Ask yourself, “What were the author’s feelings about this character or topic? How do you know?” Share your thinking with someone or write your thoughts down on paper.

• Write a response to the book read or heard. What was the text about? What did you learn?

• To refine your phonics, grammar, or reading comprehension skills, watch a BrainPOP video daily and complete the associated video tasks.

  • CLICK | BrainPOP - Offers free access during school closures. Click on the banner at the top of the page and set up a family account to access many Reading and Writing videos and activities.

• In order to learn about a grade level appropriate topic through reading, choose an activity from ReadWorks.com and complete the tasks associated with the texts.

  • CLICK | ReadWorks.org - Sign up for an account to access many different kinds of texts to read, from articles to stories to poems and plays. Sort by grade level to find a good text for your child.

• Have students track current events using Newsela and keep a journal to record their opinions about what is happening in the world. Some questions students can respond to are:

  • What was the main idea or argument?

  • What details were shared to support this?

  • What’s really sticking with you?

  • What new questions do you have after reading this? (Then encourage students to research answers to their questions.)

  • CLICK | NewsELA - Sign up for a free account. Use this site to find articles about current events that your child is interested in for them to read and answer questions. Adjust texts to match your student’s grade level.

• Students will practice for the Math section of the ACT using PrepFactory by completing the content modules and practice sets. Having a notebook/paper designated for notes and working out solutions is a MUST.

  • CLICK | PrepFactory - Provides free online ACT and SAT prep quizzes with feedback.

• Students will fine tune the knowledge and skills they learned thus far in Algebra I. For each topic, students should go in order to watch the linked khan academy videos while taking notes and complete any practice problems or quizzes on a separate sheet of paper to check understanding.

  • CLICK | Khan Academy: Algebra I - Suite of instructional videos, practice problems, and quizzes for students to independently complete using a separate sheet of paper for notes and work.

• Task: Choose 20 integers between 10 and 100. Take the square root of each integer. Rewrite each square root as an equivalent term with the number under the radical sign being the lowest possible integer. (Your teacher may have called this simplifying the radical.) Do NOT give the answer as a rounded decimal number.

  • CLICK | Khan Academy: Simplifying Square Roots - Students can reference the first instructional video (Simplifying Square Roots) that shows the process for how to complete this task. The first practice quiz can be used to check understanding.

• Task: Write two binomial expressions of the form (x+b), where b is an integer between negative 20 and positive 20. The two expressions you write must be different. For example, (x + 5)(x - 4). Then, show the steps you would use to add, subtract, and multiply the two polynomial expressions you have written.

• With your guardian, complete a coderZ challenge

  • CLICK | Stechchallenges - All challenges are due by 3/30 midnight

• With your guardian, create a periodic table of elements drawing items from your home that are made up (mostly) of that element. (for example: draw Aluminium window frames for Aluminium) (2 days)

  • CLICK | ptable - Use this resource to explore the periodic tables and examples of elements we use daily.

• With your guardian, create/ draw a racing track that allows a plastic car to travel fastest without the need of a motor. What will the track look like?

  • CLICK | The physics classroom: Acceleration - This provides an explanation of velocity, and acceleration.

• With your guardian, think about how, why are our days getting longer than night time during the summer? Define winter and summer solstice.

  • CLICK | Solstice video and - Define solstice using the video provided.

  • CLICK | Glencoe: Winter/summer solstice

• With your guardian, race your family for a given distance 4 times. Calculate the speed of each lap. Create a distance/time graph of the race. Calculate the average speed of the race for each person.

  • CLICK | Distance time graph worksheet - This handout provides a thorough review of distance time graphs and how they can be interpreted.

• Watch a short news segment together (ex. CNN 10 - we recommend parents preview beforehand) or a current events article and discuss using any of the following prompts:

  • What is the issue or problem discussed in the news segment or current events article? What details are important about the issue or problem?

  • How does this issue/problem impact people at each level - local, regional, national, and global?

  • What challenges and opportunities will those attempting to solve this issue/problem face?

  • How can individual people or small groups help solve this issue/problem? What should be done?

  • What are the multiple potential outcomes of the issue/problem?

  • Is this source trustworthy? Why or why not? What other kinds of information do we need to corroborate (confirm) this news story? Where can we look?

  • CLICK | CNN 10 - 10 minute daily news show that covers stories of international significance & clearly describes why they're making news, who is affected, and how they fit into a complex, international society.

• Process and synthesize learning from any text (this includes primary documents, articles, videos, etc.) by creating a one-pager. For additional guidance on one-pagers, see these resources:

  • CLICK | Overview & Tips for One-Pagers

  • CLICK | Printable Templates for One-Pagers (free)

  • CLICK | Crash Course: U.S. History - Short (10-15 min) videos that feature a host discussing the subject, mixed in with animations and some humor. Geared toward HS but can be used in MS.

• Students create their own primary sources through daily journaling in a notebook (½ to 1 page). Journal entries should include name, date, and location (Oak Cliff, Dallas, TX)

• Here are questions to get you started:

• First journal entry

  • When do you remember first hearing about coronavirus? When did you realize it was serious news and you could not ignore it?

  • When did you realize that daily life was going to be significantly different?

  • What preparation did you and your family members make and what was the experience like?

• Following journal journal entries

  • What have I seen today?

  • How do I feel?

  • How are people I care about doing?

  • How is my community (neighborhood, school, city, state) responding to coronavirus?

  • What is changing in the world compared to how I experienced the world before?

• After watching a video, reading an article, or taking a virtual field trip, have students process/synthesize their learning using any of the following strategies:

  • Sensory figure for one or more of the characters/people involved

  • Letters (ex. to a family member or friend), each from the perspective of a different character/person involved

  • Illustrated timeline and/or summary (illustrations are an excellent way to process & show understanding in social studies!)

  • CLICK | Museum of the American Revolution - Virtual tour of the museum (25 min) accompanied by grade-appropriate discussion questions.

• Students select a historical event to research. Come up with a research question, find and analyze at least 4 different sources, create an outline, and write a report/essay based on their research. Find templates & guidance for self-directed research here. Sample topics aligned to U.S. History:

  • Similarities & differences in the settlement of Jamestown and Plymouth

  • Impact of European colonization on Native Americans

  • Causes & effects of the American Revolution

  • Principles of the U.S. Constitution

  • Causes & effects of “Manifest Destiny”

  • Contributions of women, African Americans, and/or immigrants in building the U.S.

  • Causes & effects of the Civil War

  • Success & failures of Reconstruction